Cop accused of shooting up ATM

October 4, 2008 2:47:48 PM PDT

Eyewitness News

NEW YORK --

An NYPD sergeant is accused of shooting up an ATM machine on Manhattan's Upper East Side during an off-duty drunken rampage.Sgt. John Hynes was on duty Wednesday when he appeared with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly at a Manhattan bar to honor retiring New York Post columnist Steve Dunleavy.

After his shift, the 35-year-old sergeant reportedly visited three other bars on the Upper East Side, leaving Brady's on Second Avenue at 2 a.m. Thursday.

"I wasn't going to serve the guy, but I didn't want to have to say no to a drunk with a gun," bartender Peter Carew told the Daily News. "Thank God nobody tried to take the gun from him and nobody got hurt."

Hynes left the bar and on the street, pulled a gun from his waistband and opened fire, hitting an ATM machine chained to a storefront, police said.

An NYPD spokesman said that the 11-year NYPD veteran, assigned to the ceremonial unit, was suspended without pay following his arrest.

He was arraigned Thursday on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a weapon.

"We've entered a not guilty plea and are doing an investigation," Anthony DiFiore, a Sergeants Benevolent Association lawyer who represents Hynes, told the News.

Hynes, who was released without bail, faces up to four years behind bars if convicted.